How to verify a Philadelphia tow company is legitimate
Pennsylvania licenses one kind of tow company and not the other, which trips people up. Here is what you can actually check, and it takes five minutes.
What you'll learn
- Which tow companies Pennsylvania actually licenses, and which it does not
- What 73 P.S. §1971 and Philadelphia Code 9-605 require of a private-property tower
- Why the PPA lot rates are published, and how to use them as a reference point
- What to ask for on scene before you let anyone hook your vehicle
- Where to complain, and to which body, when something goes wrong
Step by step
- Ask who ordered the tow. A tow you requested, a city or municipal tow, and a private-property relocation are three different things with three different sets of rules.
- Ask for the price in writing before the truck rolls. For a tow you ordered, that number is the whole agreement.
- For a private-property tow, ask whether the company holds a 9-605 license, a PUC certificate and PennDOT registration.
- Look at the truck and ask for the license and the written property-owner authorization.
- Ask for an itemized written charge. 73 P.S. §1971 requires it.
- Photograph the scene before anything moves, including the sign or the absence of one.
Pennsylvania does not issue one single towing license that covers every job. A private-property tow in Philadelphia needs a 9-605 license, a PUC Certificate of Public Convenience and PennDOT registration. Ask for those. Quick Tow Philadelphia is a referral line, not the licensee and not PPA.
Start with the right question
People usually ask whether a tow company is licensed. In Pennsylvania the more useful question is what kind of tow this is, because the answer decides which license exists to check at all. Quick Tow Philadelphia is a referral service. We are not the tower, and we are not PPA.
Step 1: work out which of three things happened
- You called them. You chose the company and agreed the price. Your protection here is the quote, in writing, before the truck rolls.
- PPA or police towed it. Inside Philadelphia a parking tow is usually PPA. A crash or arrest tow often runs through the city's rotational program. In a suburb it is at that municipality's impound under its own fee. You did not choose the company.
- A property owner had it towed. Under Philadelphia Code 9-605 that job belongs to a licensed company with written owner permission, and statewide 73 P.S. §1971 sets the storage-facility rules.
Step 2: check the tower against the statute
You do not need a database for this. The statute itself gives you a checklist you can run on the spot.
- City license and per-truck certificate under 9-605.
- PUC Certificate of Public Convenience and PennDOT registration.
- Written authorization from the property owner for a private-property tow. No authorization, no lawful private-property tow.
- Posted fees, hours and an itemized written charge under 73 P.S. §1971, and release during posted hours.
- The 16-mile limit unless the owner or law enforcement authorized a longer tow.
Step 3: use PPA's published rates as a benchmark
This is the one place the Philadelphia market genuinely works in a consumer's favor. PPA publishes what it charges. Published PPA fees (philapark.org/tow, checked 2026-09-19): boot removal $150; tow under 11,000 lbs $175 straight or $225 live stop; storage $25 per 24 hours plus 22.5 percent tax. Confirmed lots include Lot 1 at 2501 Weccacoe Ave (215) 683-9550, Lot 6 at 4701 Bath St (215) 683-9510, and Lot 10 at 6 E Oregon Ave (215) 683-9601. Look the car up at findmytowedcar.org or call 888-591-3636. Snow-emergency tows: (215) 686-SNOW. Those are not private rates and they do not bind a private company, but they tell you what a large public operator charges for the same physical work, which is a useful reference when a number sounds wrong.
Step 4: check the equipment against the job
The single most common real-world problem is not a fraudulent company, it is the wrong truck. Many owner's manuals call for a flatbed on an all-wheel drive vehicle, an electric vehicle, a lowered car or anything that will not roll, so read the manual for your model and ask the assigned operator to follow it. If a wheel-lift truck arrives for an electric vehicle, that is the moment to stop and ask.
Step 5: know where to complain
| Body | Contact | What it handles |
|---|---|---|
| Find My Towed Car | findmytowedcar.org or 888-591-3636 | Locating a PPA tow |
| PPA towing | philapark.org/tow | Boot and tow fees, lot addresses, snow-emergency tows at (215) 686-SNOW |
| Philadelphia Code 9-605 / 73 P.S. §1971 | The licensed tower on the invoice | Private-property towing, posted fees, release during posted hours |
| Pennsylvania PUC | puc.pa.gov | Certificate of Public Convenience questions |
If something has already gone wrong
- Keep the invoice. For a private-property tow it is both your receipt and the paper trail.
- Write down times. 73 P.S. §1971 requires release during posted hours once the charges are paid.
- Use the right body. A PPA tow is a PPA problem. A private-property dispute sits with the licensed tower under 9-605 and 73 P.S. §1971. Sending either one to the wrong place costs weeks.
Rather have a pro handle it?
Towing and roadside service across Philadelphia plus Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester counties. One local line, taking calls 24/7.
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